In the midst of a record turnout in the 66th Assembly District, and all the problems with voter records, Arthur Schwartz local District Leader, wanted to make sure that 93-year-old Ruth Berk got an opportunity to vote. So at noon on April 19 he wheeled her into the Polling Station PS 3. She was proud to announce that

By Arthur Z. Schwartz For six months I have been writing for the WestView News that “presumed” Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, was anything but a shoo-in. I have kvetched about the media’s refusal to cover the Bernie Sanders phenomenon, except for a week after the New Hampshire Primary. I dare say that the Sanders campaign

By Arthur Schwartz New Yorkers finally get to jump into the Presidential Primary process on Tuesday April 19. Polling places are open from 6 am to 9 pm. If you are not sure where you vote call 1-866-votenyc (866-868-3692) or type pollsitelocator.nyc into your computer or smartphone. Most people in the West Village vote at

By Bernie Sanders Greetings to the readers of WestView and to your wonderful publisher George Capsis. As you know I grew up in Brooklyn, attended NYC Public Schools and started college at Brooklyn College. I was the child of parents who spent their formative years surviving the Great Depression, and who taught me the value

By Maggie Berkvist When The New York Times ran my Letter to the Editor on March 4th, WestView News publisher George Capsis suggested that, since it concerned a subject under much discussion these days, (In fact, it elicited 395 responses in the Times’ online edition!) it should be reprinted in this month’s issue. In his

By Christy Ross In a cheery kindergarten classroom at Mountain View Elementary School, I joined 20 of my Elko neighbors to caucus in the Nevada Democratic primary on February 20. Fourteen of us (including myself) stood among the low tables and tiny chairs on the right side of the room to indicate our support for

To the Editor: In reference to your advocacy of a federal Single Payer healthcare plan in place of the ACA, let it be conceded that on straight economics a Single Payer plan, as in Canada, the UK and almost all of the developed world, would be far less costly. But, alas, “Politics is the art

By George Capsis Oh, wow—the New York Times, despite their endorsement of Hillary Clinton, slammed her in an editorial on February 26 entitled “Mrs. Clinton, Show Voters Those Transcripts.” It starts with a scolding: “ ‘Everybody does it,’ is an excuse expected from a mischievous child, not a presidential candidate. But that is Hillary Clinton’s

By Arthur Z. Schwartz New Yorkers will have a stark choice in April. We will have a presidential primary after Super Tuesday and primaries in another half dozen states. And there is a good chance that even discounting “super delegates” (those undemocratic figureheads and friends of the party establishment, who have far too much power

By Arthur A. Schwartz By the time you read this, the Iowa Caucus results will be counted and either Bernie Sanders will have won or he will have suffered a narrow loss. Whichever way it goes, his campaign has awakened a movement in America which must not be lost. I haven’t been to Iowa, and

We the public should not pay off Mayor de Blasio’s political debts. The City Council bill to ban the passage of horse drawn carriages from driving to and from their stables to Central Park is a terrible idea. This is a campaign promise that he made to developer Steve Nislick and NYCLASS in return for

By Alec Pruchnicki Since the 1960s, I’ve been active in a variety of political causes. I learned back then not to be co-opted (a popular phrase during the ‘60s) by getting involved in “bourgeois” political action. Those who supported Gene McCarthy or Bobby Kennedy worked hard, only to get Richard Nixon and several more years

By Arthur Z. Schwartz As we neared the end of 2015, some astounding things were going on in the polls. A late December poll commissioned by CBS News showed Bernie Sanders within 5 points of Hillary Clinton in Iowa, with 5 weeks to go, and 12 % ahead in New Hampshire (where she had almost

One phrase Obama did not repeat was if a person is willing to give his life, there is no protection. And the fact that this Muslim couple left their newborn daughter and drove back to face a group of fellow employees to open fire means that this act will be repeated and repeated. —George Capsis

The Village Independent Democrats (VID) held its monthly meeting on Thursday, December 10th. Nadine Hoffmann, President of VID, started the proceedings by giving her President’s report. She announced that a forum dealing with gun safety and regulation is being planned for March in conjunction with the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club and possibly with other reform

By George Capsis In the November issue of WestView, we reported that The New York Times, in a seething editorial, challenged Hillary Clinton to “make a fast thorough effort to explain herself by providing a detailed plan for how she would promote measures protecting middle class Americans from another financial crisis,” and on December 19th

By Arthur Z. Schwartz As I finish my 34th year as a resident of the West Village, I remain amazed at what a close-knit, vibrant community we live in, even as we grow and change in so many ways. 2015 was the year I was arrested for disconnecting surveillance cameras — cameras a greedy landlord

By Arthur Z. Schwartz Way back in our November 1 edition, before either Sheldon Silver or “Dean” Skelos had been convicted of bribery, money laundering, and other acts of corruption, I published a piece which alleged that Assembly Member Deborah Glick had her own questions to answer. My interest had been sparked by a report

By Frederic Block I wrote a book a few years ago, Disrobed: An Inside Look at the Life and Work of a Federal Trial Judge. In it I acknowledged that most judges “only communicate in academic fora, through the formal media of written opinions and official rulings from the bench.” They play it safe, perhaps

By George Capsis Some years ago, in the old Times building on West 43rd Street, I found myself sitting down at a very large oval table as one after another very distinguished New York Times journalists came in to take their places to interview my acquaintance and maybe even friend, Dr. S. I. Samoylenko

By Arthur Z. Schwartz I held off on writing about the Sheldon Silver trial hoping to have a verdict to discuss. But the jury is clearly going to deliberate at least till our publication date, and perhaps longer. I realized however, that that verdict is just a technical end to a sordid tale. The

A West Village friend said to me, “If everyone who says ‘I really think Bernie would make the best President, but he can’t win, and I’d leave the country if a Republican gets in, so I have to vote for Hillary’ ACTUALLY VOTED FOR HIM, HE COULD WIN !!!!” —Liz

On Thursday, November 12th the Village Independent Democrats had their monthly meeting in St. John’s Church on Christopher Street. The meeting was chaired by long time member Katharine Wolpe. There were reports and updates on a variety of club activities including Democratic party election planning, a presidential candidates forum at the SVA theater on November

By Arthur Z. Schwartz When Donald Trump launched his campaign with a diatribe against Mexicans, the media treated him like the pariah he is. His TV show was cancelled, and Univision cancelled its coverage of the Miss Universe pageant because Trump owned it. But Trump caught the ear of the most backwards, racist segment

The monthly routine for the Village Independent Democrats and the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club changed in October as they held a joint meeting and forum concerning the proposed $15 minimum wage. The meeting was held on Thursday October 17th at the community room of the Fulton Houses on Ninth Avenu The forum started with a

For a couple of weeks in early October, the Transport Workers Union (TWU), which I am co-General Counsel of, took out a series of newspaper ads blasting Mayor de Blasio for not committing enough money to the MTA’s ten year Capital Plan, a plan needed to upgrade the infrastructure of the subway system. The

By George Capsis The front page of the Times reported that half of all the money spent so far to support Democratic and Republican candidates for president came from just 158 families—$176 million. This is inevitable as more of world’s wealth slides into fewer and fewer hands. The top one-tenth of one percent owns as

By Arthur Z. Schwartz After the October 12 Democratic Presidential Debate, The New York Times declared Hillary Clinton the “hands down” winner. She wasn’t knocked down, and Bernie Sanders, ever the principled guy looking to discuss issues, let her off on the email server business. I didn’t see the debate the way the Times did.

By Arthur Z. Schwartz On September 18, I was reminded why politics and elections can be inspiring. Seated with Westview Publisher George Capsis and 1500 others at Town Hall, I watched the Presidential candidate who has drawn the biggest crowds and the most fervent support as we head towards the 2016 election. And it

“There is a lot of sentiment that enough is enough, that we need fundamental changes, that the establishment — whether it is the economic establishment, the political establishment or the media establishment — is failing the American people,” “If it’s too expensive to care for our veterans, don’t send them to war.” “There is far

By Arthur Z. Schwartz Sometimes following District Leader races is like reading tea leaves. The races are for insiders to evaluate and understand. But sometimes they explode with meaning. Like in 2013 when I was re-elected after an 8-year break and beat the candidate endorsed by Assembly Member Glick, State Senator Hoylman, and City

On Thursday September 17th, the Village Independent Democrats met in St. John’s Church on Christopher Street. There were short reports on a variety of Democratic party primary elections, local political activities, Candles for Clemency, young voter outreach, Genetically Modified Organism food labeling, small business support legislation, and Public Advocate Leticia James’s proposal to divest New

By Arthur Z. Schwartz I was in Toronto when the photograph of the Syrian child, Aylan Kurdi, who washed up on the shore of Greece, was published in the newspapers. His family was headed for Canada, and the delay caused by Canadian Government red tape caused an immense outcry and hand wringing. The first fifteen

By Arthur Z. Schwartz Twenty-five years ago an upstart threatened to run against longtime Greenwich Village Assemblyman Bill Passanante. Bill had become a progressive force in the State Assembly and in local politics over thirty-six years. He was way ahead of his time, introducing a gay rights bill and domestic partnership legislation. He supported liberalized

By Alec Pruchnicki On Thursday August 13th, the Village Independent Democrats held their monthly meeting in St. John’s Church on Christopher Street. Club president Nadine Hoffman and district leader Keen Berger reported on a variety of local political issues along with updates on Democratic Party endorsements and issues. Tony Hoffman reported on petitioning

By George Capsis The ultimate and fatal flaw in women is their emotions and in men it is their egos. A woman sees “truth” through her emotions and a man through his ego, and the larger his ego the more reality is distorted. Cuomo apparently has a very big ego—I mean BIG—and hence Cuomo’s

On Thursday, July 9th, the Village Independent Democrats met in St. John’s Church on Christopher Street. Club Vice President Linda Jacobson substituted for several absent club members and gave the President’s report about a variety of club activities, small business preservation initiatives and legislation, and election preparation for November. Keen Berger, Democratic party district

By Arthur Z. Schwartz Last Sunday, I ran into a neighbor who I hadn’t seen in a while, and she said: “Are you really for Bernie Sanders? Do you think he can win?” I responded: “Yes, I am for Sanders. I actually think that Hillary Clinton has peaked, is headed for big trouble with